A review by monsterofidaho
Crom Cruach by Valkyrie Loughcrewe

challenging tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I can't tell if it was me or the book but I had a hard time getting through about the first third of the book. However, things immediately start running full tilt right after that. Crom Cruach is written in verse, theoretically, but it doesn't really feel like it needs to be -- except there are a couple of cases where Loughcrewe does actually play with form and you realize how powerful verse makes this story. And for sure, calling Crom Cruach a 'distinctly Irish anxiety piece' sums it up pretty well.
SpoilerWhile it turns out that there really are supernatural forces at play,
Crom Cruach is so much more about people and the divisions created in a country that has been systematically oppressed from the start. The last third of the story is where it really gets good and the very last line at the end keeps rattling around my brain. 
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